Dr Binayak Sen: A prisoner of conscience

If having sympathies for a cause which I believe in is anti-national then I think I am anti-national.

If thinking disagreeing with the the state is criminal then I am criminal.

If trying to understand a cause, that affects the poor and deprived section of the society is sedition then I fear someday I might be meeting Binayakan Sen’s fate.

Ever since Dr Binayak Sen has been convicted for sedition by a Lower Court in Raipur, the civil society and the right thinking citizens of India are living in fear of prosecution by the state which does not want to breed dissent. Civil society, which is the conscience keeper of the nation, is now at the receiving end of the system which wants to protect corrupt and communal elements in the society and prosecute its concerned citizens.

Sen is a doctor with a degree from one of the top most medical colleges in India, who could have earned in millions per month had he joined one of the modern five star hospitals if he had not listened to the call of his conscience and worked without any reward and recognition among the poorest of poor in remote inhospitable villages treating the people who are still away from the reach of any sort of modernity.

Past victims of the sedition law

In reward reward for this selfless service he has been awarded jail for life – a conviction under a law enacted by colonial rulers 140 years ago in 1870. The English used to harass our freedom fighters by using this law against those who would raise their voice against the colonial rule. Among the victims of this law were Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi.

Jawahar Lal Nehru had described the Sedition Act as “highly objectionable and obnoxious” and said that it “should have no place both for practical and historical reasons and sooner we get rid of it the better.”

But, the law instead of getting struck down is being used against the citizen of free and independent India by its own government.

Is Dr Binayak Sen guilty?

Sen tried to help the hapless and neglected section of the society which was beyond the radar of the Government of India for the last sixty years. He tried to use his knowledge of medical science for the treatment of those in remote forest areas where there is no primary health centre. He challenged acts of the Chhatisgarh government, notably the formation of a reactionary vigilante group, Salwa Judum, which was meant to kill the people who supported and were protected by the Maoist rebellion.

These acts of Dr Sen are termed “rajdroha” or sedition by the Second Additional District and Session Judge V P Varma at Raipur, Chhatisgarh. Among the evidence against the doctor is an attempt to pass on three letters written by a jailed Maoist leader to some unknown people in Kolkata, and his help in opening bank accounts for some “hardcore Maoists.”

The British government charged Bal Gangadhar Tilak for sedition in 1897 for giving inflammatory speeches that led to the killing of two British officers. He was charged under the Sedition Act for two more times and in one instance Tilak’s case was successfully fought by Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1916.

Writing in Kafila, a political and media blog, Banglore based lawyer Siddharth Narrain says :

“The fundamental moral question that Tilak raised was whether his trials constituted sedition of the people against the British Indian Government (Rajdroha) or of the Indian government against the Indian people (Deshdroha)”.

Commenting on the judgment, a former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Rajendra Sachhar, says that

“there can’t be a greater nonsensical judgment than this. I am ashamed to belong to a judiciary that delivered such a ridiculous judgment…today it is Sen. It could be anybody else tomorrow”.

The fear is not unfounded. On November 27, 2010 last years the Delhi High Court acting on a complaint of an individual ordered the registration of an FIR against hard line Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, writer Arundhati Roy and five others for allegedly making anti-India speeches in a seminar in New Delhi on a complaint filed by an individual.

The whole episode seems comical and bizarre for a country that boasts to be the largest democracy in the world with fundamental rights of freedom of expression and freedom of movement.

The reaction, to Dr Sen’s conviction, is a testimony to the fact that right thinking people are disappointed by the verdict.

A New Delhi based broadcast journalist who reports on national and international affairs. He is a contributor to the Asia Pacific based magazine, The Diplomat. He tweets as @destinydefier (twitter.com/destinydefier)

well its all done in pakistani papers to actually make pakistanis realize that they are better off without democracy by giving them certain instances which happen in every part of the world.
carry on the propaganda
no body cares a damn !!!!!!!!!!Recommend

Rajat

Mr. Sanjay, I admire your communist sentiments, our constitution still says that india is a socialist republic. Its heartening that various people in the press are calling to repel the sedition law, it will be awesome if it happens. But, on the other side of the coin the proposed ideology of the naxals ie. to have Maoist type communism in the whole of india, completely lost their point (and their way) after they embraced the path of violence and killing. They now-a-days no more than extortionists and murdering goondas. Mr. Kumar, if you are reading this, the naxals lost my sympathy the day they caused the West Midnapore rail incident. How are they any different than the so called “extreme right anti-democratic” government that we have now? I agree there is a lot of income disparity, where we have one man building a 5000crore house and on the other, an entire village without a roof over their head, but if the path of achieving this equality involves such acts of barbarity(from both sides) and bloodshed, I am sorry, I dont agree. If both right and left cooperate, then only we will have a true and shining India. Its also funny that you criticize China, the country’s ideology, the same that Dr. Sen wanted to adopt. Recommend

Sanjay

Mr Rajat,
My contention is that Communist might be having the violent method of struggle to achieve their political ends. The fact of the matter is that despite the government’s attempt to crush the Maoists they have spread their wings from few states to almost 18 states in India and this has happened because of the people’s support to the cause the Maoists espouse. Maoists are also thriving on the support of the tribal,landless and deprived sections of the society and the moral support of those who believe in the equal distribution of the nation’s wealth and resources.
The government will have to take into account this fact why the Maoists are managing to expand their reach and cause rather than concentrating too hard on curbing them somehow. By doing so they are alienating a large section of the people who find Maoists as their only saviours.
I don’t support the violent means of achieving any political goal but I fully support their concern for those who are at the margins of the society. Instead of spending millions of dollars in killing the Maoists the government should divert these resources in addressing the problems of the marginalized and poor and that will for sure defeat the Maoists more firmly than any gun or bullet.Recommend

http://hamargamblogspot.com vinod mishra

hi,
why only dr.binayak sen .arundhati and saiyed ali shah gilani are also facing same sedition charge .idea of india starts from intellectual and end with you ,this is not fair to talk only those who has the access but how many people do you know who are facing police torture and long pending cases.
thanksRecommend

Rajat

Mr. Sanjay,

I disagree.. there are some (i dont say all) districts wherein the people only support the maoists because of fear, and there are some who support simply because there is no one else. We are talking of people who look forward to having atleast one meal a day, rather than contemplating what Marx had to say about capitalism in his magnum opus. They dont know what is left, right or centre in politics. Communism as a concept is perfect, but has it been practical? You, sir have been quite critical on the iron fist and closed curtain policy of “a successful” communist country of China. Russia, now is hardly a shadow of USSR. Vietnam, even after it became communist, after it defeated the great capitalistic forces, has’nt been able to break its shackles of poverty. My aim is not to demean communism. But dont you think there should be a balancing act, that maoist should also drop their guns, say that we will allow the CRPF men to help the poor by strengthening the infrastructure (building essential amenities) together, rather than killing them mercilessly, by ambush. Then the people in the poverty belt will welcome both the maoists as well as the incumbent government forces. After all in poor india the people are more interested in self-upliftment, rather than a political ideology.Recommend

Neeraj, India

Mr. Sanjay,
India paid an extremely heavy price for the decades of bloody socialism. It brought nothing but poverty and misery to the millions. Entrepreneurial skills of two whole generations were crushed and squandered in the name of socialism and equality. When South Korea, Japan and other South East Asian countries were rapidly surging ahead with their market economies and world hailed them as tiger economies, India with it’s so called socialist economy remained mired in poverty and disease.
Your dream of socialist society is now dead, not only in India but everywhere in the world, including Russia and China. Maoists are nothing more than a bunch of violent idiots. They are not going to make any difference to the lives of tribals of Chattisgarh or Jharkhand. The so called human right activists with twisted mindset like Binayak Sen, Arundhati etc. are no more than a desperate group of publicity seekers. They thrive on the misery of the poor.
Mr.Rajat tried to brand you as a communist, but I would like to call you a survivor of the now extinct breed, who were known in India as ‘Jholawalas’. These guys loved to discuss ways and means of bringing revolution in India by sipping imported scotch and puffing 555 cigarettes!
Anyway, it should not come as a surprise for anyone if he/she finds almost all of your writings spewing venom against India, after all, your targeted audience are Pakistanis. Recommend

A Chowdhury

Mr. Sanjay,

I condemn the wrongful conviction of Dr. Binayak Sen because of the reason that the lower court of Chattisgarh did not mention where and how his acts amounted to sedition in a specific way. Today people are raising voice because of lack of natural justice given to Dr. Binayak Sen. There may be conspiracy on the part of some miscreants in the Government who are trying to misuse the law.

But, with regards to Sedition laws, let me tell you it still has its importance in India even today. If Constituion has given you right to speech and expression then it is also your correlative duty not to support Maoist or extremists in any way. I would have been happy if you would have criticised the lower court’s judgment and lack of natural justice involved in it. But, you have disapoointed me by targeting the law itself.

Eminent criminal lawyer Ram Jethmalani have offered to defend him because of the wrongful conviction and not because of the sedition law in itself. Globally people are saying goodbye to Communism and honestly in today’s context, I find no difference between a Maoist and a Islamofascist as both kill innocent people – one in the name of poverty and another in the name of religion. Recommend